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Posts Tagged ‘Mind’
Binaural Tones
Posted By Sensei on October 5th, 2010
Acoustics Binaural Beats
Binaural beats or binaural tones are auditory processing artifacts, or apparent sounds, the perception of which arises in the brain for specific physical stimuli. This effect was discovered in 1839 by Heinrich Wilhelm Dove, and earned greater public awareness in the late 20th century based on claims that binaural beats could help induce relaxation, creativity and other desirable mental states.
The brain produces a phenomenon resulting in low-frequency pulsations in the loudness and sound localization of a perceived sound when two tones at slightly different frequencies are presented separately, one to each of a subject’s ears, using stereo headphones. A beating tone will be perceived, as if the two tones mixed naturally, out of the brain. The frequency of the tones must be below about 1,000 to 1,500 hertz for the beating to be heard. The difference between the two frequencies must be small (below about 30 Hz) for the effect to occur; otherwise, the two tones will be heard separately and no beat will be perceived.
Binaural beats are of interest to neurophysiologists investigating the sense of hearing. Binaural beats reportedly influence the brain in more subtle ways through the entrainment of brainwaves and can be used to reduce anxiety and provide other health benefits such as control over pain.
Brain waves
- Gamma waves > 40 Hz
Higher mental activity, including perception, problem solving, fear, and consciousness - Beta waves 13–39 Hz
Active, busy or anxious thinking and active concentration, arousal, cognition - Alpha waves 7–13 Hz
Relaxation (while awake), pre-sleep and pre-wake drowsiness - Theta waves 4–7 Hz
Dreams, deep meditation, REM sleep - Delta waves < 4 Hz
Deep dreamless sleep, loss of body awareness
The precise boundaries between ranges vary among definitions, and there is no universally accepted standard.
The dominant frequency determines your current state.
For example, if in someone’s brain alpha waves are dominating, they are in the alpha state (this happens when one is relaxed but awake). However, also other frequencies will be present, albeit with smaller amplitudes.
The brain entraining is more effective if the entraining frequency is close to the user’s starting dominant frequency. Therefore, it is suggested to start with a frequency near to one’s current dominant frequency (likely to be about 20 Hz or less for a waking person), and then slowly decreasing it towards the desired frequency.
Some people find pure sine waves unpleasant, so a pink noise or another background (e.g. natural sounds such as river noises) can also be mixed with them. In addition to that, as long as the beat is audible, increasing the volume should not necessarily improve the effectiveness, therefore using a low volume is usually suggested.
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